I promised to tell you more about Project Hannah and I will. I've had a few days to 'arrive' back in Vienna, which has included soaking up the last of the summer sunshine and freaking out because my support raising target just increased by a significant amount. Somewhere in between, I've unpacked my suitcase, done my laundry and contemplated what to write next. Perhaps I'll start by telling you that the prayer aspect of Project Hannah, upon which all the other work is grounded, looks like this: women (& men) in 124 countries praying through the monthly prayer calendar in 79 languages. Each month the calendar has a specific focus (this month is women in South-eastern Europe) and for each day there is a specific prayer point. People pray alone and in groups, daily, weekly... wherever, whenever, however. And it is this movement of prayer, which changes the lives of women.
At last week's conference, I had the privilege of simply listening to the reports given by the coordinators of a diverse range of countries. We heard of the struggles European women face: from the crushing pressure on some to do it all, be it all and supposedly have it all, to the women who've watched husbands and sons die around them as victims of blood feuds. And then there are the practices, which cut across all of these European societies, such as the trafficking of women forced into the sex industry (we cannot cease to raise awareness about such realities). From each of these coordinators, I heard about the women and families whose lives have been transformed through the prayer, radio programming and practical needs met by those involved in Project Hannah.
The focus of this conference was on the fact that only through our relationship with Christ can we do this kind of work. Both the miraculous stories and the challenges we're up against show that this ministry is far too big for even the sum of those involved worldwide. It is only through God, who chooses to use us. Many of these heroic women spoke honestly about their struggle to follow God's agenda in their daily work for Project Hannah, rather than their own. Each of us could identify with this on a personal level. I discovered this week that the financial 'cost' of the work I'm going into just increased significantly. So I needed to do a bit of kicking and screaming at God and be reminded that He's got hold of me. For other women working to bring hope to others, or even just living as Christians, the potential costs are far greater.
There are issues in my life where I go round in circles trying to work out how selfless or otherwise my motives are. At some point I am reminded that I can simply ask God to do His will and not mine... Then I realise I might not be totally signed up to the idea of scrapping my agenda in favour of His. Yet I also see what God is doing through the faithfulness of those committed to Project Hannah. This makes me want to want to follow God's agenda more. Thank you to these women of Project Hannah, both at the conference and far beyond.
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